What drives a young woman raised in a postwar New York City suburb to convert to Islam, abandon her country and Jewish faith, and embrace a life of exile in Pakistan? The convert tells the story of how Margaret Marcus of Larchmont became Maryam Jameelahof Lahore, one of the most trenchant and celebrated voices of Islam's argument with the West.

Documents the author's conversion from all-American atheist to Islam, a journey marked by her decision to relocate to Cairo, romance with a passionate young Egyptian, and her efforts to balance the virtues of both cultures.